What is the title of your latest release?
THE PHONE SWAP
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
A single, never-been-in-love scientist and a Hollywood heartthrob swap seats on a plane, and when they get home, realize they’ve picked up each other’s phones.
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
It sounds quite twee, but sometimes these things just come to me like a bolt from the blue and that was the case for this one! There are parts set in the Arctic, and it genuinely arrived as a “what if?” in my mind and it just felt so right. It’s a book of contrasts in a way. Two very different people from two different worlds, and what could be further from Hollywood and film sets? The Arctic with no phone signal and more animals than people!
Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?
Absolutely! I learned a lot while writing Allie. She’s guarded and quite direct, but she’s also really autonomous and comfortable with what she loves, and she really protects it.
What are three words that describe your hero?
Misunderstood golden retriever.
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Besides learning how to be more autonomous through Allie, I learned a lot about birds and would totally class myself as a birder or bird enthusiast now! Allie works in seabird conservation, and I was lucky enough to speak to two amazing female scientists who work in this field. (They taught me how you might weigh a puffin and how to keep your camp safe from bears, for example!)
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I have to wait until I’m done or I end up getting in a big tangle!
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
I really love a good slice of cake! Red velvet, or classic chocolate, or even a great, pillowy cinnamon bun.
Describe your writing space/office!
This varies! Sometimes I work at my desk which features lots of candles and pens and notebooks (and coffee mugs I haven’t put in the dishwasher haha). Other times it’s wherever I can get the words written in a busy day. In bed with my laptop, on my sofa, even on my phone.
Who is an author you admire?
Jodi Picoult. She’s a beautiful writer and such an innovative storyteller.
Is there a book that changed your life?
Louise Rennison’s Georgia Nicolson books. I was about 12 when I read them and I remember feeling so understood, so immersed in the world, and also constantly laughing out loud. It was one of the first times I’d felt a book could be a real companion, and that a writer really could write in their own ‘voice.’
Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published). Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish
This is going to sound unglamorous, but I was wiping down my coffee table and wrangling toddlers and my email beeped. My mum was visiting and I shouted out to her “oh my god. I think I have a book deal!” It was one of the best moments of my life!
What’s your favorite genre to read?
I read widely - commercial fiction in general. Romance, women’s fiction, book club reads, thrillers. I just love a truly great story.
What’s your favorite movie?
Notting Hill and Dirty Dancing - classics for a reason, and two that I have watched hundreds of times each.
What is your favorite season?
Can I have two? Spring and autumn!
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Peacefully with my husband and kids, with my favorite things. (Plus, lots of nice food and a hot bubble bath!)
What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
Heated Rivalry. (Perfection!)
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Ohh, hard question. I think I’d for either Greek or Chinese!
What do you do when you have free time?
I really love to take long walks in somewhere super leafy and green. Headphones in, a takeout coffee, and my own (mostly very chatty and often, dreaming up book plots) thoughts.
What can readers expect from you next?
I’m writing something I’m really excited about at the moment. It’s romantic and also speculative. It’s about choice versus what is truly fated and already written in time and space.
Lia Louis lives in the United Kingdom with her partner and three young children. Before raising a family, she worked as a freelance copywriter and proofreader. She was the 2015 winner of Elle magazine's annual writing competition and has been a contributor for Bloomsbury's Writers and Artists blog for aspiring writers.
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